The government
established the Fund to assist those who could lose their jobs or stop
receiving a salary for a period of time as a result of -

pregnancy,

illness,

adopting a child under the age of two years, or

upon the death of the
breadwinner of the family.

5
types of benefits provided by the Fund:

Unemployment
benefits – If you lose your job you must apply
within 6 months of becoming unemployed. You can claim benefits for up to 34 weeks (238 days).

llness benefits
– If you are ill you can claim if you are unable to work for more than
14 days and not receiving a salary or receiving only a part of your salary
from your employer.

Illness benefits cannot be claimed is the contributor refuses to undergo
medical treatment.

Maternity benefits – When you are due to have a baby you are
entitled to 17 weeks (121 days) maternity benefits. If you have had a miscarriage you can claim for 6 weeks (42
days). Maternity benefits are
separate from ordinary unemployment benefits.

Adoption benefits
can be applied for when you adopt a child under the age of two years and
take unpaid leave or receiving only a portion of your salary while you are
at home caring for the child. Only
one parent may claim.

Benefits are only payable if the
child is adopted in terms of the Child Care Act and the period that
the contributor was not working was spent caring for the child.

Dependents
benefits can be applied for if the person who has
been financially supporting the household dies. The spouse of the deceased can claim the benefit even if he
or she is in employment. The
application must be made within 6 months of the date of the death of the
deceased contributor. If the
surviving spouse does not make an application within 6 months, a dependent
child under the age of 21 years and includes any person under the age of
25 years who is a learner and who was wholly or mainly dependent on the
deceased, can apply for the benefits. The application must be made within 14 days after the 6-month
period has expired, during which the spouse should have applied.

Benefits can be claimed when:

Benefits may be claimed
for any period of unemployment lasting more than 14 days, if -

The reason for
the unemployment is the termination of a contract of employment,
dismissal of the contributor or insolvency;

Application is
made in accordance with the prescribed requirements;

The contributor
is registered as a work-seeker with a labour centre established
under the Skills Development Act;

The contributor
is capable of and available for work.

A contributor
is not entitled to a benefit when:

If the contributor is receiving a monthly
pension from the state.

If the contributor is receiving payment from
the Compensation Fund for illness or injuries that caused the temporary or
total unemployment of the contributor.

If the contributor is receiving benefits
from any other scheme established by the Labour Relations Act.

If the contributor resigns from
employment.

If the contributor fails to comply with the
provisions of the Act.

If the contributor is suspended from
receiving benefits because the contributor has been caught working and
collecting benefits or committed fraud. (In this case the Unemployment Insurance Commissioner may deny a
contributor access to the fund for a period of up to five years.

)

If the contributor
fails to report at the times and dates stipulated by the claims
officer.

If the contributor
refuses without just reason to undergo training and vocational
counselling for employment.

Amount
of payment by the Fund:

Credits are given to the worker as they work and
contribute to the Fund. For
every six days you have worked you get one day’s credit up to a maximum
of 238 days. To build up the
maximum credits you have to work for four years. If you have worked for less than 238 days you can claim for the
number of days credits you have built up. In the past, everyone received a fixed benefit of 45% of his or her
salary (up to the set maximum). This
has changed - now benefits are calculated on a sliding scale dependent on
your salary. The benefit
rates range from 38% for the highly paid workers (earning more than R97
188 per annum, R8099 per month or R1869 per week) to 58% for the lowest
paid workers.

Documents
needed to apply for benefits:

Unemployment Benefits

Illness Benefits

Maternity Benefits

Adoption Benefits

Dependents Benefits

Dependent Benefits (children)

13 digit bar-coded identity document or
passport

13 digit bar-coded identity document or
passport

13 digit bar-coded identity document or
passport

13 digit bar-coded identity document or
passport

Certified copies of 13 digit bar-coded
identity document or passport of both the deceased and spouse/life
partner

Certificated copies of 13 digit bar-coded
identity document or passport of the deceased, guardian and child if
applicable

Last 6 payslips

Last 6 payslips

Last 6 payslips

Last 6 payslips

Last 6 payslips of deceased

Last 6 payslips of deceased

Information supplied by employer (U119)

Information supplied by employer (U119)

Information supplied by employer (U119)

Information supplied by employer (U119)

Information supplied by employer (U119)

Information supplied by employer (U119)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

A fully completed application booklet
(U12)

Proof that you are registered as a
work-seeker with the Dept. of Labour

Proof of banking details

Proof of banking details

Proof of banking details

Proof of banking details

Proof of banking details

Statement of amount received from employer
during period of illness

Statement of amount received from employer
during maternity leave

Statement of amount received from employer
during adoption leave

Certified copy of marriage certificate

Proof of guardianship

Completed medical certificate

Order of adoption

Completed medical certificate

Certified copy of death certificate

Copy of birth certificate of child

Proof that the child is a learner or was
wholly or mainly dependent on the deceased

Effective
date:

Changes in the Unemployment Insurance
Legislation in terms of the new
Unemployment Insurance Act (Act 63 of 2001) came into effect from 01/04/2002.

This document is based on information provided by
the Department of Labour.